Gamers worse than outlaw biker gangs?

Michael Atkinson, the South Australian Attorney-General, has commented on the fact he thinks gamers are a bigger threat to himself and his family than outlaw biker gangs. Is there any way he can justify this statement?

There is a debate raging at the moment in Australia regarding the introduction of an R18+ for video games. Currently they are the only ‘developed’ country without an adult rating.

Atkinson is firmly against introducing this rating, stating it is the same as asking for more cruel sex and extreme violence. He is also a strong supporter of the Nintendo Wii, claiming it has been a success without resorting to sex and gore – a point we have to concede.

Speaking on ABC TVs Good Game, he had the following to say;

“I feel that my family and I are more at risk from gamers than we are from the outlaw motorcycle gangs who also hate me and are running a candidate against me.

The outlaw motorcycle gangs haven’t been hanging around my doorstop at 2am. A gamer has.”

This last comment was in regards to a threatening note put under his door by a gamer.

Some of Team Attitude have children of their own, so we can empathise with Atkinson in this respect. No one has the right to threaten another person, or their family – and this is not the way to get a message across.

However, we feel Atkinson has made a sweeping generalisation regarding gamers – most of us would happily debate the introduction of an adult rating without resorting to threatening behaviour.

Then there are the people who actually live in areas controlled by gangs. We can imagine they would swap places with Atkinson in a heartbeat.

We think an R18+ would be a good thing, giving greater transparency to parents when it comes to choosing the correct game for their child.